Short Story "Mangy Dog" Plot, Themes, and Symbols This last and longest story in the volume is narrated by Ginho, who is marginalized and alienated by his peers in school and out of school. The story centers around Mangy-Dog (Cão-Tinhoso), a stray that is diseased, helpless, and dying. The narrator feels compassion and sympathy for the dog for these reasons but also because the dog is an outcast among other dogs and because a girl, Isauro, loves the dog. One day, the narrator and the group of boys from his class are asked to kill the dog by the veterinarian. He presents the act as a kind of hunting game and appeals to them as a group of friends. Ginho is the only one who says that he doesn't want to kill the dog, but the other boys, in part due to their own reluctance, force him to shoot at the dog first. Although Ginho misses the dog, his friends go on to shoot and kill the dog. As one critic said, "La simplicité du style - adapté au point de vue d'un enfant - se combine à la richesse de différents niveaux d'interprétation" (the simplicity of the style - adapted to a child's point of view - combines with the richness of different levels of interpretation). Race and Gender in Mangy Dog The boys in the narrative all have different racial backgrounds: Ginho is a young, black, assimilado boy; Quim is the white leader of the gang; Faruk is an Arab; Gulamo is Indian; and Xangai is Chinese. Ginho is the victim of both racial and gendered discrimination when in the novel Quim and Gulamo call him "maricas" (sissy) and "Preto de merda" (you black shit) for not being able to kill Mangy Dog. In addition to being insulted with a racial epithet, he is emasculated by the other boys. As Sabine notes, "Honwana's women are most often not protagonists capable of acting and learning, but a social resource under the control of men" (42). There are three women in the story of Mangy Dog: Ginho's mother, his teacher, and his classmate Isaura. Ginho's mother attempts to discipline him but her protests are futile as he leaves the house with his father's rifle. Isaura attempts to stop the killing, but is yelled at by the boys' leader Quim and told to leave. Her values of compassion and pacifism are